Citywide Lifestyle Medicine Program Can Accommodate Nearly 4,000 Patients per Year; Program Provides Patients with Tools to Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes, Including Access to Plant-Based Diet Resources and One-On-One Counseling
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals today announced its nationally recognized Lifestyle Medicine Program has launched a new location at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, marking the first time the program is available in the South Bronx. The program is now active at seven sites across the five boroughs, with six new locations previously launched: NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in the Bronx; NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn; NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst in Queens; and NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt on Staten Island. The pilot program — launched at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in 2019 with the support of then-Brooklyn Borough President Adams — has already served hundreds of patients. Together, the program’s seven sites will serve approximately 4,000 patients each year, providing them with tools and support to prevent and manage common chronic conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
The Lifestyle Medicine Program’s team supports patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including a healthful plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress reduction, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults living with prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or health concerns related to excess weight are eligible to enroll.
“Today, we are again sending a clear message that New York City will not stand by and keep feeding the chronic disease crisis,” said Mayor Adams. “This is personal for me: I have seen up close how chronic disease can hijack your life. My mother reversed her Type 2 diabetes thanks in part to a plant-based diet and lifestyle changes, and a plant-based lifestyle helped save my life. Pill boxes, prescriptions, injections, and endless appointments should not define the lives of New Yorkers. Now, families in the South Bronx, and across New York City, will have access to the care they need. New York City is leading the nation by expanding these lifestyle medicine programs, and, together, we are building a healthier, more prosperous future for all.”
“We all have a loved one, family member, colleague, or friend that has a diet-related chronic condition like heart disease or Type 2 diabetes,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “That’s why today’s announcement is so remarkable; our Lifestyle Medicine Program, now in every borough of the city, gives people hope to not just manage their condition but potentially bring that condition into remission. Thank you to the teams executing this work and for doing so with an equity-focused approach tailored to each community.”
“I am so excited to celebrate the city’s latest lifestyle medicine site,” said Mayor’s Office of Food Policy Executive Director Kate MacKenzie. “The evidence is clear that lifestyle medicine programming is helping patients treat chronic and diet-related diseases. Core tenets of the program, such as produce ‘prescriptions’ and nutrition counseling are also helping combat nutrition insecurity in our city. This fantastic addition to the Mott Haven community of this program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln demonstrates our administration’s fierce commitment to equitable access to health care and to ensuring that New Yorkers in the Bronx, and all over the city, have the tools they need to live long and healthy lives.”
In addition to the citywide Lifestyle Medicine expansion, Mayor Adams continues to advance a larger strategy around plant-based nutrition and further integration of Lifestyle Medicine into health care more broadly. In December 2022, Mayor Adams announced a partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to offer every health care practitioner across New York City free foundational training in the principles of lifestyle medicine, with a particular focus on plant-based nutrition. Additionally, in June 2023, Mayor Adams advanced a resolution at the U.S. Conference of Mayors that was adopted and detailed the administration’s work across school food, the Lifestyle Medicine Program expansion, and in-patient plant-based meals at city-run hospitals.
